Right of dissent

Certainly, there have been great strides, with some success, taken by the president and his advisers against the madness perpetrated by the al-Qaida.

Providing this nation is still a democracy, I choose not to join the drum and bugle corps behind the president as yet. With so much secrecy in Washington, I want to see how Bush's policy plays out in the future. I also choose, with Richard Nixon in mind, to judge a president on his total performance. Nixon was headed for foreign policy triumphs, but his attitudes toward domestic issues brought him down.

In terms of President Bush's domestic policies, I find many of them to be outrageous. Claiming national security interests, he has, by executive order, prevented documents from the Reagan-Bush era from being released under the Freedom of Information Act. His tax-break plan decidedly favors the rich and large corporations. His ideas of "voluntary" pollution controls by heavy industrial polluters weren't worth a hill of beans in Texas and now threaten to neutralize the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, acts he claims may hurt the economy.

Those who wish to continue praising President Bush certainly have the freedom to do so, but, please, allow those who disagree to also have that right. A great threat to national security is to discourage dissent.